Love and life lessons - fiction with a heart, the fiction of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Sometimes You Have To Recharge The Batteries - In KINFOLK country

Although most of the time I keep my author's nose pressed to the proverbial grindstone, sometimes it's good to get out into the wider world and just recharge a little. That's what I did yesterday....took off into the southern environs of Arkansas to get to Oklahoma to a beautiful little state park, Natural Falls just over the Arkansas border in West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma.

Since I like to get out, go and do, it's rare for me to find a new place that I've not visited before but I did with this place. It's like a hidden secret tucked away in the rugged hills and it's well worth the hike to reach the falls.

They "ain't woofin'" when they tell you that it's a strenous hike and rough terrain. To get here, you have to walk along narrow trails that are often one person wide through the brush, up and down some serious hills, and over rocks. Of course we took the long way around that had a far worse hill to climb and you have to go down, way down into a valley or canyon to reach the falls. On the final leg of the route, there are some actual steps that make it a little bit easier but I'm not lying - getting here isn't going to be easy for most people. That's probably why they have a nice overlook way high above that is handicapped accessible and for those who just aren't up to making the trek.

Once there, however, it is the most beautiful and peaceful place. The spring fed water fall descends 77 feet into a pristine, clear and beautiful pool against a natural rock bluff. A few other little springs spurt out and make smaller falls too. I imagine when it rains, that effect just increases. There is a sturdy platform with comfortable benches so you can just sit and stare at the falls, soaking up the peace and quiet of the place. To me it feels like a holy place, drenched with positive energy.

I loved it.

I left feeling recharged and energized (and with a new story idea to boot, nice bonus)

Then we headed back into Siloam Springs, Arkansas and a trip to their original downtown that looks unchanged from decades past. We stopped at a small park across from the Crown Hotel which appears to be more in the business of renting rooms and "apartments" these days. Outside, however, it looks like something from a Western movie. Since that part of Arkansas is what I call "Kinfolk" country - the setting for my just released romantic suspense novel - it was nice to revisit it again.